"As of right now, I want to be the starting center fielder in Shea Stadium.

"I'm not disappointed at all about them getting Beltran. I want to be the starting center fielder there, and I want to take someone's job. I'm not saying I will, and I'm not saying I won't. I just want to get to the big leagues and help win a ring for my team, and if I have to play catcher to do that, I will"

Devil Rays general manager Chuck LaMar said he spoke with the Mets about Baez and Lugo. He also said he came up with a three-way deal involving Tampa Bay, Boston and New York that would've gotten Ramirez to the Mets. He said a proposal was "about as close as it got," adding that the Mets made prospect Lastings Milledge "untouchable throughout this trade deadline."